“He’s more than a comedian. He’s a mouthpiece for the far left,” O’Reilly said. “I have a pretty good relationship with Jon Stewart … but Stewart’s a different animal. Stewart will make fun of everybody. He sees things that are absurd on both sides. Not Colbert. He’s a very committed leftist.”

Colbert is very committed to his faux conservative personality on Comedy Central’s “Colbert Report” and — as Barbara Walters pointed out — has said it is based on O’Reilly.

The Fox News opinion host clearly doesn’t appreciate the schtick, and doesn’t think “40 percent of Americans who describe themselves as conservative,” do either. Even though Colbert has made it clear he will not be hosting “The Late Show” in character, O’Reilly thinks it will still be tough for the comedian to connect with CBS’ audience.

“Colbert’s gonna have to come out of his little persona where he snipes and makes these little snarky remarks, and he’s got to be broader. That’s not going to be easy for him to do,” O’Reilly said. “Will conservatives give him a chance? I think they’ll sample. Why wouldn’t you do it out of curiosity? But he’s got to be funnier than the two other guys.”

The two other guys he’s referring to are Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon.